Page 94 of The Trouble with Runaway Brides

“I regret so much.”

She puts her finger over my lips and slides up. “No. We move on, remember? The only thing that matters now is going forward. Let’s take Dori’s advice. Let’s worry about savoring our new memories.”

I roll her over. “Which part? A house full of kids? We should start now.”

She grins. “Sounds good to me.”

I draw back to see if she’s serious.

“What? I want it all with you and I’m not a patient person.” She shrugs.

“Well, it’s a good thing it makes me happy to give you everything you want.”

Although we’re exhausted from a long day, we spend the rest of the night under the blankets making love and, with any luck, a family.

Epilogue

Kenzie - Four months later

Blake plays the podcast.

“I’m getting married, listeners!” I laugh. “I know you’ve heard that before, but it’s really happening. So stay tuned to Love, Marriage and Where to Find It for more details after this word from our sponsors.”

“It sounds good,” Blake says from my bridal suite. We recorded this podcast two days ago, so today could be reserved for my actual wedding. “Hold on, it’s starting again.”

“Okay, so as everyone knows, I pulled a runaway bride on my first wedding and then disappeared for a while. It’s embarrassing to make that big of a mistake, and I do believe that you can love more than one person in your life. Just think of our guest from a couple weeks ago, Brinley Kelly, soon-to-be Adler, who talked about falling in love after losing her first husband.”

Brinley walks by me in her bridesmaid’s dress and sits in the chair to get her hair done now that mine is complete. She smiles and blows me a kiss. She and Van are still discussing whether they want to go away or have their wedding here in Lake Starlight. I think one day she’s going to come home from a trip and say they got married.

“But I think for me, I’ve only ever loved one man. Actually, he was a boy when I first started loving him. Which makes me worry I went into the wrong line of work. I found love at fifteen and somehow lost it until I was twenty-six. I guess what matters is that we found our way back to one another.”

My mom puts her hand on my cheek. “Do you love him?”

Tears spring to my eyes. “So much, Mom.”

She pats my cheek. “I know, sweetie, I know. It’s almost time.”

“And he’s a wonderful man who puts me first and treats me like a princess. But, listeners, it goes both ways. And let me tell you, it’s fun to surprise him and treat him like a prince. He’s always so appreciative. Then again, lately we’ve been having a tug-of-war of who can outdo who.”

Lance’s mom walks in with a small box, and I shake my head, knowing it’s from Lance. I open it as everyone stands around. Inside is a pair of sapphire earrings, but they look more bluish gray with diamonds wrapped around them. Accompanying them is a little note.

This is your something blue.

“Ugh, he knew I had the blue covered,” Brinley shouts from her chair.

She purchased a blue thong for me to wear under my dress, but I’d already bought my bridal undergarments. I didn’t want to tell her that.

“And did someone give Easton my package?”

Mrs. Whitmore nods.

“For example, I know the rules usually apply to the bride, but I sent him something borrowed, blue, old and new. Which I can tell you about now because, by the time this airs, he will have received them. Blue cuff links for his suit, a new swatch for his tuxedo with our initials embroidered on it, and for something old, I gave him his pin from when he campaigned for class president, but he has to give it back, so technically, it’s borrowed. I found it in my keepsake box, and it was a big part of our lives when we were younger.”

My cell phone pings with a text message, and I pick it up.

Hubby: Thank you.

There’s a picture of the cuff links. I hurriedly take out the earrings I’m wearing and put in the new ones.

---